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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25291696">Waiting For You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/matsukawas/pseuds/matsukawas'>matsukawas</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A3! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, He dies in canon but just in case, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:46:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25291696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/matsukawas/pseuds/matsukawas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Omi is having nightmares about the day he lost Nachi, but luckily there's someone there to comfort him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fushimi Omi/Hyoudou Juuza</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Waiting For You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A JuOmi fic for A3! Rarepairs Week Day 4! The prompt was "restless night".<br/>English isn't my first language so please be gentle with me!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cold wind beat on his face. His hands were sweaty as he firmly held into the grips of his motorcycle. The scenery passed by him at an incredible speed, thousands of lights flashing before his eyes as night fell on the city. Usually, this scenery was something he looked forward to seeing in his nightly rides with Wolf. They would drive around the city, honking and raising their gang's flag, the neon signs shining just for them in colorful lights. But he had no time to spare for it at that moment. Their pursuers were right behind them. Whenever he looked back over his shoulder, or peaked at the mirror of his motorbike, he could see them for a moment, before they disappeared again when the road curved.</p><p><em>They'll never catch up to us.</em> He smirked and accelerated, pushing his motorbike to its limits.</p><p>He didn't plan on spending his evening in this manner, obviously. He and Nachi were simply out riding, then stopped to munch on some burgers in their favorite diner. When Nachi finished eating pretty much everything on the menu, they made their way to the parking lot where they left their motorbikes. There, they were ambushed by this enemy gang.</p><p>He recognized the gang emblem that decorated their clothes and bikes. Last week, they picked a fight with their very own Wolf. He and Nachi have quite easily dealt with them. Even ended up sending some of them to the hospital, including their leader. And now it looked like they were out for revenge. He didn't know if they were moving independently or if their leader ordered them to do so. They might've simply spotted his and Nachi's motorbikes in the parking lot and decided to act on a whim. Or maybe they followed them here to begin with. It didn't really matter. What mattered was that they had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. He supposed that maybe he and Nachi could deal with them. If it was with Nachi, he could do anything. But his rationality won, and he yelled at Nachi to get on his bike and drive the hell out of there. Nachi looked dissatisfied, as he expected him to be. Nachi wasn't the kind of guy to miss an opportunity to fight, even if he was at an obvious disadvantage. But that was exactly why Wolf had two Bosses - so they could watch each other's backs, and talk sense to each other when needed.</p><p>Nachi was riding right in front of him, the wind messing his long, bright hair. He didn't look back even once, always facing straight ahead. Nachi led them to the highway that circled around the city. They rode in perfect sync, and so close that Nachi's rear-wheel almost touched his own front one.<br/>They were in love with the thrill. The thrill of the chase, the thrill of riding so fast the scenery around them was just a big color stain, cutting their way through the wind that persistently tried to hold them back, clutching on to them with its cold claws. The thrill of fighting against the world with just your trusted partner by your side.<br/>He tried to call Nachi a few times, but his voice disappeared, swallowed by the uproar of dozens of motorbikes and the howling wind. He couldn't see Nachi's face. However he was certain Nachi was enjoying this moment as much as he did.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that one member of the enemy gang managed to catch up to them. The guy rode just parallel to him, sending him deadly stares. He tried to shake the guy off, but with little success. Every time they managed to accelerate, that guy caught up to them again. He could feel that other members of the enemy gang were starting to catch up from behind too. The gears inside his head were spinning, trying to come up with a way to lose them. And then the guy that rode next to him raised the metal pipe he was holding in his hand.<br/>"That's for hurting our leader, asshole!" He could hear him scream, and then the metal pipe hit his face.</p><p>He somehow managed to hold on to the handles of his motorbikes. Blood filled the inside of his mouth and dripped down his face. But he was still in control, and fortunately he could keep his motorbike stable on the road.</p><p>But Nachi wasn't as lucky. He hopelessly watched as the same metal pipe hit the back of Nachi's head. He kept on watching as Nachi's hands were torn away from the grips, and his limp body fell forward. Nachi's motorbike flipped over. He pressed on his breaks, but he didn't manage to fully stop his own motorbike in time, and it crashed into Nachi's. He was thrown off his bike, his body, which was big and sturdy for a high school student, spun uncontrollably in the air, as though it was no more than an empty barrel. The big vehicles flipped over and rolled on the road in a horrible metallic racket.</p><p>His body finally hit the ground. He was hurting everywhere. It felt as though his body became one with the road, his face merging with the cold asphalt. He could hear the sound of motorbikes passing by them, mixed with laughter and yells of victory.<br/><em>Nachi</em>. His mind screamed. He couldn't get the image of Nachi falling off his bike out of his head. That gave him the wake up called he needed to try and get on his legs. It took a long minute until he managed to scrap his body off the road. There was blood streaming from where his skin was ripped open – pretty much all over his body. Most painful was his face, and he could feel how swollen it was. He could feel his own heartbeat slamming in his ears, and especially in the lower part of his face.</p><p>He rose to his knees and looked around. Their motorbikes were a smoking pile of metal at the side of the highway. Some parts were torn off and they lied uselessly on the road. He spotted Nachi, lying motionless among broken motorbike parts. He crawled the short distance between them, his body aching with every movement.<br/>Nachi's body lied sprawled on the ground in an impossible position. There were puddles of blood around Nachi, and a big puddle surrounded the ground were Nachi's head rested, like some menacing halo. He grabbed Nachi's clothes with shaking hands and yelled at him to open his eyes.</p><p>And he still couldn't see Nachi's face.</p><p>*****</p><p>Juza sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. It was still dark outside. He was a heavy sleeper and rarely woke up in the middle of the night, so something must've been wrong. While his still clouded mind tried to comprehend what woke him up, he felt something moving next to him. The movements weren't very big or violent, but apparently in the narrow bed it was enough to wake him up.</p><p>Omi was having a nightmare again.</p><p>Ever since they started dating, Juza and Omi have often slept together. Banri was more than happy to let them use the room he reluctantly shared with Juza. He was always complaining about how Juza's snoring and teeth grinding were the main cause of his sleep shortage. So when he found out his Troupe-mates have started going out, he immediately declared that he didn't mind if they switched rooms sometimes. And so, on some occasions he would go to sleep in Room 105 where Taichi stayed, and Omi moved to Room 104 for the night. Taichi enjoyed talking and playing with Banri, Omi and Juza got a room for themselves and Banri got to sleep peacefully, so it was a good arrangement for everyone, really.</p><p>For Juza, being with Omi was nothing short of paradise. He was the one person Juza could be completely honest with, could be himself. Sometimes he didn't even have to say things out loud for Omi to understand him. So clearly, sleeping alongside Omi was more than comfortable for him. Even if the bed was too small they could barely fit in it, the peace they found in each other's arms was worth the crampedness.<br/>But it wasn't all just good things. Because there were Omi's nightmares.</p><p>It wasn't the first time Juza woke up to find Omi suffering from a nightmare. Usually it ended before Juza could do anything about it. The painful expression on Omi's face would slowly disappear, and Juza would stay up and watch the sleeping Omi until his breaths became even again. And by the time morning arrived, it never seemed like Omi remembered ever having a nightmare, he was his usual bright and gentle self. He never mentioned his nightmares to Juza.</p><p>But Juza didn't have to interrogate Omi about his nightmares to know what they were about. After all, having seen Omi's Portrait, he knew everything there was to know about him, every possible dark place hidden in him. Juza wasn’t the brightest, but he was almost certain that in his dreams, Omi was still in high school, riding around town with his precious teammates.</p><p>Juza thought Omi came to peace with his past. Juza watched him struggling to face it, to accept it, he was there by his side all the way through, and even gave him words of encouragement. But Juza knew terribly well that it wasn't easy to shake off the hold of your own past on your mind. And Omi's past came to haunt him at night.</p><p>This time it looked like it was worse than usual though. Omi was twitching in his sleep, and low groans escaped his throat. His face wore such a miserable expression it almost looked like he was in physical pain. Juza wouldn't admit it, but he was scared, and worried sick. Helpless, he tried to call Omi back to reality.</p><p>"Omi-san, wake up." Juza whispered, shaking Omi's shoulder. Didn't look like it was helping. Omi wasn't waking up, and his whimpers just turned more and more desperate. And then after a while, everything suddenly stopped. The movements, the groans – all stopped abruptly as though they never were there in the first place.</p><p>Absentmindedly, Juza let out a sigh of relief. He noticed Omi's eyes were open. So he did wake up after all. That explained why he turned all quiet. Omi looked puzzled, and seemed like the webs of sleep were still wrapped around his consciousness. His somewhat unfocused eyes fell on Juza and he stared at him for a few moments.</p><p>"Nachi…?"</p><p>The dark room was dead silent. It was so silent Juza could hear the crickets in the dorm's courtyard. He stared down at Omi and watched as the light returned to his eyes and realization of what he just said hit him. Omi sat up on the bed instantly and grabbed Juza's shoulders.</p><p>"Oh god, I'm so sorry Juza."</p><p>"Why're you apologizing? 's fine."</p><p>"No, it's not fine. I-"</p><p>"It's not the first time you're talking in your sleep about Nachi-san." <em>Only this time he wasn't really sleeping. </em>Juza thought.</p><p>Omi looked at him hesitantly, "Seriously?"</p><p>"Seriously." Juza replied, and then added, "You don't remember?"</p><p>Omi shook his head.</p><p>"I'm truly sorry, Juza. I can't believe I've been troubling you like that." Omi let out a somewhat restrained laugh. "To make it up to you, I'll add an extra serving of dessert to your lunch box tomorrow."</p><p>Juza's eyes shone. <em>Omi-san's desserts…</em> his mind started to drift, but he quickly shook his head and cleared the irrelevant thoughts away. He must focus. He finally had a chance to bring this subject up. He didn't like seeing Omi suffering like this at night. And Omi was always helping him - whether it was in acting practice, advice about university matters or sweet baking. Juza wanted to something for Omi too for a change.</p><p>"Did you dream about Nachi-san?"</p><p>Omi didn't answer right away, "Yeah. About the day we… when Nachi…"</p><p>Omi's voice disappeared, and Juza kind of regretted asking. Omi was smiling a sad smile, a smile that appeared on his face whenever he was talking about his past. Whenever he was talking about Nachi. Juza didn't want to make Omi remember painful memories, it wasn't his intention. Was there nothing Juza could do for him?</p><p>Omi laughed again, and this time his laughter sounded more like his usual one. It was the laugh that made Juza's heart melt the way ice cream melted in his mouth, "Sorry for worrying you. But the truth is I was happy to wake up and find you watching over me. Thank you, Juza. I appreciate it."</p><p>Juza smiled lightly, "I like it when you're thankin' me, instead of apologizing."</p><p>Omi looked surprised, and Juza realized he must've said something really embarrassing. But then Omi wrapped his arm around Juza's neck and pulled him down with him, until they were both lying on the bed again. For a moment Juza thought it was supposed to be one of Omi's pro-wrestling moves, but then Omi buried his head in Juza's chest, just under his chin.</p><p>"You know, in my nightmare just now," Omi started, his voice so muffled Juza struggled a bit to hear it even in the silence of the night, "I… I couldn't see Nachi's face. It scared me."</p><p>He stopped. Juza felt like there was more. Omi's voice sent vibrations through his body whenever he talked, and it felt nice. Juza closed his eyes and waited for him to start talking again.</p><p>"It's funny, isn’t it?" Omi laughed, "Until not so long, I tried to push away everything related to my past. I tried to distance myself from things that reminded me of it, like motorbikes, for example. But now that I felt like I was forgetting it, I got so scared."</p><p>"So you okay now?" Juza asked. "With rememberin' I mean."</p><p>"Yeah, I am." Omi raised his body a bit and moved up, until his head rested on the pillow, just next to Juza's, "I guess it's also thanks to you, Juza."</p><p>"Me?"</p><p>"Yeah. You told me that my past isn't just the source for my misery, but also the source of so many happy memories. You made me realize that all this time I was looking at it all wrong, and that I had to change my perspective. You remember that?"</p><p>Juza remembered. It was back when Omi struggled with the weight of playing a lead role in their second performance, Stranger. Juza especially remembered how he couldn't stand the way Omi was looking at him. It wasn't like that all the time, but sometimes, Juza felt like Omi looked at him as though he was looking at a ghost. It made Juza feel horrible. Because it was as if his very existence gave Omi so much grief. As if simply by Juza being there, Omi was being made to remember. At that time, Juza thought he had to do something about it. For the Troupe, but also for himself, and for Omi too. He didn't know that his words from back then affected Omi so much, though.</p><p>"Did you fall asleep?"</p><p>"No…" Juza said, still deep in thought. If he recalled correctly, it was after Stranger that they grew much closer, even more than before. He finally felt like Omi was looking at him fully as Hyodo Juza, and not as the shadow of someone else. And eventually, they started dating. Since then he heard many stories and legends about Nachi, both from Omi and from the other ex-Wolf members, and it became clear to him that the only similarity between them was the appearance. Every other thing was different. He could now say with full confidence that Omi liked him, Hyodo Juza, just the way he was, and not because he was an image of someone else. And it made Juza extremely happy. So happy that he didn’t mind-</p><p>"What are you thinking about?"</p><p>"—was thinkin' about how I don't mind if you looked at me. At my face. If it helps you remember him."</p><p>"Oh Juza," Omi said and stroked Juza's hair, his big hands so gentle. He pulled Juza's head closer until their foreheads touched. "Thank you. But you just focus on becoming someone else only on stage. Offstage, you're<em> my</em> Juza."</p><p>Juza felt his face heating up. Omi didn't miss the opportunity to tease him, "Oh, are we embarrassed?"</p><p>"You say embarrassing stuff." Juza replied.</p><p>Omi laughed (even in his embarrassed state Juza managed to think about how much he loved this laugh), and pulled Juza into his arms, "I can't thank you enough. I mean it. My nightmares probably won't disappear so easily. But just knowing you'll be there when I wake up gives me courage."</p><p>"I'll wait for you." Juza wrapped his arms around Omi's big body and gave him a clumsy hug.</p><p>"That's encouraging." Omi laughed again. "Let's try to get some sleep now. We both have to wake up early tomorrow."</p><p>"Yeah. …night."</p><p>"Good night, Juza." Omi said, and kissed Juza lightly.</p><p>Omi fell asleep immediately, leaving Juza to deal with his loud heartbeats and flushed face. No matter how much time passed, those little gestures from Omi made his heart race. He was sure he wouldn't be able to fall asleep in this state, especially not with their bodies so close to each other in this tiny bed.</p><p>But he did fall asleep. After all, there wasn't a place more soothing than in those big arms, in this small bed.<br/><br/><br/></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!<br/>I love JuOmi so much and I hope I was able to get that across &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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